Unwelcome News
by Wild Force Ranger
Summary: Kaia returns to thank the sisters for their help, but conversation with Chris reveals something he isn't eager to hear. Powers, interlude.


Author's note: And we're back to Powers. This is the start of a new arc.

Thanks to...oh wait, no one reviewed my last post...

Timeline...um. Somewhere between Spin city and the end of Season Six.

Unwelcome News

Halliwell Manor was empty, as near as Kaia could tell.

"Well, darn." she muttered. Tilting her head back and shading her eyes, she studied the building for a minute before turning away.

"Kaia."

Turning back, she found Chris standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Chris. I just came to thank the sisters for the other week."

"They're not here." Chris glanced over his shoulder. "Come in."

"No, I should…"

"Please." His voice was steady. "I wanted to talk to you."

Kaia studied him for a minute. "Sure."

Following him inside, she settled in the sitting room and watched him pace. After a minute or two she stood up, took his arm and pulled him into a seat. "Sit." she told him firmly. "The conversation will not go well if you're bouncing around like a jack rabbit."

Chris scowled briefly, shifting in his chair. "I wanted to ask you something."

"All right, but then I'm going to ask you something."

Chris nodded. "It's about something Connor said."

Kaia smiled. "How many conversations have started that way?…No, never mind, it's a personal thing. What did he say to you?"

"That I was wrong." He shrugged. "That I wasn't dead, and that there was something wrong about me."

Kaia leaned back, studying him. "It's not you." she said finally. "Not really. It's you being here, now. How far in the future?"

"Twenty years…more or less."

"Huh." She nodded thoughtfully. "There's nothing wrong about you—although you're not dead. Connor just knew this isn't…wasn't…your time. He's…he doesn't go for tact, much."

Chris relaxed, lowering his head, and when he looked up again she was smiling. "What?"

"He worried you that much?"

"I wasn't worried." Chris said defensively. "He's just…I knew about him, before I came back here, but I never heard that he was so…"

"Defensive?" Kaia suggested. "He has issues. Chris, this is your time as much as anyone's, now. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

He nodded slowly. "You were going to ask me something?"

"Hmm? Oh…I was, but now I'm not."

"Why not?"

"Too personal."

"Go ahead. I won't be offended."

"I'm not worried about offending you."

He leaned forward. "Ask your question."

Kaia leaned forward, matching his posture. "What was it like, watching your brother grow up evil?"

Chris stared. "How did you…"

"Magic." She shrugged. "I told you. Personal."

"He wasn't…" Chris hesitated, thinking. "I didn't know he was evil at first. When we were little, he seemed fine."

"I want to change my question." Kaia announced.

"I'm already answering."

"I know. Stop answering and listen to the new question."

Chris stared at her. "Are you always like this?"

"Usually. Why?"

"How does Connor put up with you?"

"We spend lots of time apart. May I ask my question?" Chris made a 'go ahead' gesture. "Was I there? In your future?"

Chris got up and started wandering around the room. "You weren't around much. Ever. We knew who you were, and you obviously were still alive. Even Wyatt couldn't have kept Earth going otherwise. But we never saw you."

Kaia shook her head and, almost too softly to hear, murmured, "Someone really messed up with you."

Chris stopped pacing and demanded, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Kaia rose to her feet, moving towards him. Chris backed up as she approached and she stopped, watching him carefully. "Was it really so dangerous, Chris? Was there anyone in your future you could trust?"

Chris watched her warily. "What do you mean?"

"You know who I am and you're still nervous of me. I've seen you with the sisters, you don't let them near you, and I _know _who they are to you. Wasn't there anyone you could trust?"

"Bianca." He shrugged. "Originally."

"Wyatt?" Kaia asked softly.

"He wouldn't hurt me." Chris said quickly, before hesitating and adding slowly, "but I don't know if he'd stop anyone else, either."

Kaia nodded slowly. "You trust me?"

Chris hesitated for a long moment; Kaia waited patiently, not moving. "Yes." he said finally.

"Thank you." she murmured. Taking his hand, she led him back to the couch and pushed him gently into it, hunkering beside him.

"What does it mean?" Chris asked. "That someone messed up with me?"

She reached out, slowly, cupping his face. He flinched slightly away from her, but she kept hold and he relaxed after a minute. "Ah, Chris, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

She shook her head slowly, not letting go of his face, keeping him watching her. "You should have been mine, Chris. I'm sorry that whatever happened kept me from you, I'm sorry you had to be alone…"

Chris pushed her hands away and literally stepped over her, retreating as far across the room as he could. "I don't know what you mean."

"Yes, you do." She rose to her feet but didn't move, staying exactly where she was. "You know exactly what I mean."

"You're not…you weren't even around then!"

"I know. I'm sorry. Whatever it was, I'm sorry it kept me from you."

Chris shook his head, pacing again. "You're crazy."

"Connor said the same thing." she said, almost to herself. "He happened to be right, at the time. But I'm not now."

"You are if you think I'm supposed to be yours. I'm a Whitelighter, I follow the Elders."

"You do not." Kaia said, laughing. "There weren't any in your time and you don't follow any in this time. Maybe Leo, but that's it. And you're not a Whitelighter, either. An angel, maybe, but not a Whitelighter."

"Even if you're right. Which you aren't. But even if you are…once I'm born I'll be following the Elders. Can't really avoid that."

"Yes, we can. Leo won't fight me on this. Anyway, I don't want baby you…although he might be mine too. It's you who's mine."

Chris shook his head. "You're crazy."

"No." Kaia shook her head. "I'm really not."

The front door rattled before Chris could say anything else and Piper arrived, pushing Wyatt's stroller and carrying a bag as well. Chris looked once at Kaia before reaching to take the bag from Piper.

"Thanks, Chris. Hey, Kaia." Piper said in surprise. "I wasn't expecting you."

"Just came to say thanks for the other week." Kaia told her, hunkering in front of the stroller and smiling at Wyatt.

"You did that before you left." Piper pointed out.

"Did I? I was sort of out of it." She reached in to touch Wyatt's head—almost like a formal blessing, Chris thought.

"Yes, and so did Connor."

"Really?" she looked up in surprise. "He thanked you? Wow. Um…yeah, but I just wanted to come back when I wasn't loopy."

"Is that what you call it?" Piper leaned over to pick up Wyatt as she spoke.

"That's what we call it." Kaia agreed, scooting back out of her way. Chris sighed and offered her a hand up, which she took gratefully but barely looked at him except to smile thanks. "Can I help you put him down, Piper?"

Piper looked up from Wyatt's bag. "Sure, if you want. Why?"

"I like babies." Kaia said with a shrug. "My cousins are great, but they're not really babies anymore, so…let me get that." she added, reaching for Wyatt's bag.

"Thanks." Piper started up the stairs.

"You think about it." Kaia said softly to Chris, smiling and following Piper.

Left alone, Chris sank into a chair and stared at nothing.

* * *

Kaia left without speaking to him again, except to say goodbye, and he was left with a lot of questions. As had become habit for him, he wandered into Wyatt's room as he thought. The novelty of not having Wyatt raise his shield was something he still enjoyed.

"Something wrong?" Leo asked from directly behind him.

"No." Chris didn't look away from the cot. "Just thinking."

"Anything I can help with?" Leo crossed to the cot and reached in, stroking his son's cheek gently.

"I doubt it. It's something Kaia said."

"Try me." Leo suggested.

Chris shook his head wordlessly, and Leo frowned. "Something bad?"

"Depends on your definition." Chris muttered. "No. Not really."

Leo nodded. "I can't help you without knowing what it is."

Chris sighed, leaning against the window and looking out, keeping his back to Leo. "She thinks I was meant to be hers. One of her Champions. But because everything got screwed up, she couldn't come get me. And now I'm back here…" He fell silent; he was getting dangerously close to saying things he probably shouldn't.

"Chris, you're a Whitelighter. You can't be hers."

"That's what I said." he muttered.

"And?"

"She says I can because there weren't any Elders in the future, so I didn't follow them."

"But there are Elders now." Leo reminded him.

"I said that, too."

"And?" Leo asked carefully.

Chris shook his head again. "She said I don't follow them either, only maybe you."

Leo straightened, alarm in his eyes. "Chris…"

"She's wrong." he interrupted the older man. "And I told her so."

"She's not." Leo murmured. "You're here for Wyatt, you've said so yourself. You've only followed the Elders when it helps your cause."

"Even so." Chris rallied. "I'm here for Wyatt. Not for her."

"You could probably do both." Leo mused.

"Leo…" Chris protested.

"All right. So go talk to her."

"What?"

"Go talk to her. Find out, once and for all. It's got to be easier than staring at Wyatt all day."

Chris hesitated, looking at Wyatt, and Leo added, "I'll stay here for a while."

Chris nodded slowly. "Thanks, Leo."

"No problem." Leo answered, watching him orb away.

* * *

It took Chris a while to track Kaia; there were places she spent time in, but she didn't seem to be in any of them, and he was loath to start knocking on doors. Finally he sat on the wall outside the house she spent most of her time in, and waited.

It took most of the day, and she finally appeared only after a young boy had come from the house to see why Chris was there. It was late evening by now, and the garden was full of shadows.

"You could have come in, you know." She leaned against the wall next to him.

"Wanted to talk to you."

"Figured." She pulled herself up next to him, tucking one foot under herself and turning to face him. "What's up?"

"What's up? You drop all that on me and ask me what's up?" He didn't look at her, watching the children play on the road in front of them instead.

"I'm sorry I didn't get back to you. I didn't think you'd want to have this discussion in front of Piper."

Chris grunted something that might have been agreement. "Where's Connor?"

"Rome with Dawn, last I checked. Why?"

"Don't want to have this conversation in front of him, either."

Kaia smiled, letting her free foot thump lightly against the wall below them. "He's not that bad, you know."

"He nearly killed Piper the last time."

"Oh?"

"You were pretty badly hurt. Piper was trying to help you. Connor wouldn't move out of her way at first, and then he glared at her the whole time."

"Piper's not one to be upset because someone glares at her." Kaia said idly.

"No." Chris agreed slowly.

"He's protective, that's all. He doesn't know your girls, not really, and he doesn't trust magic. Not even mine, not yet."

"But he still came to us."

"Yeah…" Kaia turned her head, watching the kids.

"You know why?" Chris asked. She didn't answer, and he went on, "He came because you trust us."

"What?"

"He took the potion from the girls because you trust them. Even though he didn't, you did."

"Connor's odd that way." she murmured. Turning to look at him again, she added, "You didn't come out here to sit on my wall and talk about Connor."

"No." he agreed.

"So…what?"

He sighed, turning to face her. "Tell me what you want."

"I don't _want _anything, Chris. Connor couldn't grasp this either."

"That's not helping." he said sharply. "All these little references to Connor."

"What?" She blinked, startled. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize. You know you're talking about him more than I am."

"I'm not comparing us, though. It doesn't help me to tell me how he reacted."

"Gotcha. No more referencing Connor." She made a zipping motion across her mouth.

Chris grunted slightly. "You don't want anything." he prompted.

"Right. The others…the Elders, the Powers, the others…they all want their Champions to _do. _I just want mine to _be."_

"To be what?" Chris asked.

"Anything you want. A homicidal, ax-wielding maniac if you want…although I'd rather you didn't. As long as you're alive and you acknowledge me, that's all I need or want."

"But you live with Connor." Chris protested.

"Connor's…yeah. That's different." Kaia looked away, smiling automatically as two of the kids peeled off and ran into the house behind them. "And I don't live with him all the time, remember? Rome?"

Chris nodded an acknowledgment. "When you came to the Manor, with Connor. I…knew things about you. Things I couldn't have known."

"It happens." she agreed. "It's never going to be intrusive. The things you need to know, you will."

"I needed to know you're not going out with Connor?"

"I guess." Seeing his look, she added defensively, "I don't put the knowledge there, Chris. You call it up yourself."

"Does Connor know about me?"

"I don't know. He hasn't said. If he knows, it's not from me he got it."

"You're very unhelpful, you know that?"

"It's part of my charm."

He had to laugh, at that, and they sat in silence for a moment, watching the remaining kids reorganize themselves. "So…"

"You can keep doing what you were doing." Kaia finished for him. "Actually, that works out really well for me. Wyatt obviously wasn't any good for me if I couldn't even see you once."

Chris grinned then, still watching the kids. "Nice for you."

"For you, too." Kaia said with a faint smile. "Baby you, anyway. Doesn't have to go through it again."

"I wouldn't wish it on him." Chris agreed.

"Good." Kaia pushed off the wall. "Come inside?"

Chris shook his head. "I should go back, I've been gone all day."

Kaia touched his cheek lightly. "If you look for me, I'll know."

"What, call your name?" he asked somewhat shakily, leaning away from her.

"No. Just look for me."

Smiling, she went back into the house.

* * *

"Chris?"

Chris jumped and looked at Leo. "Yeah?"

"I've been calling you for ages. Everything OK?"

"Yeah. Sorry, I was…" he gestured vaguely, turning back to look out over San Francisco.

"You sort everything out with Kaia?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it's sorted."

"Good. Come on home."

"I'll be there in a minute."

Leo orbed away, leaving Chris to think.


End file.
